With about 95% of precincts reporting, he held a 50.1% to 48%
lead over Clinton.

His victory came despite the fact that polls had given
Clinton a huge advantage heading into the state's contest.

A Monmouth University poll conducted last week found the former
secretary of state with a 13-point lead. The RealClearPolitics
average of three recent surveys put her up more than 20 points.

"I am grateful to the people of Michigan for defying the
pundits and pollsters and giving us their support. This is a
critically important night. We came from 30 points down in
Michigan and we’re seeing the same kind of come-from-behind
momentum all across America," Sanders said in a statement
released by his campaign after the victory.

He continued:

Not only is Michigan the gateway to the rest of the
industrial Midwest, the results there show that we are a national
campaign. We already have won in the Midwest, New England and the
Great Plains and as more people get to know more about who we are
and what our views are we’re going to do very well.

According to MSNBC exit polls, Sanders appeared to make up some
of the deficit among black voters, who have overwhelmingly
favored Clinton in the primary thus far.

She easily won the Democratic primary in Mississippi, taking home
the majority of the state's 36 delegates. Due to the close
split in Michigan, Clinton is likely to capture a solid chunk of
the state's delegates even with Sanders' win. And Sanders
still trails her in the overall delegate count.